Boucle du Hainaut

Project concerning the construction of a 380kV line between Avelgem and Courcelles

For a successful energy transition in a sustainable world

The Boucle du Hainaut project consists of the construction of a new 380 kV overhead electricity line with a transmission capacity of 6 GW between the Avelgem and Courcelles substations.

See the presentation of the project proposal by Elia below, dating from September 2020

In the interest of society

The project meets 4 major objectives, which you can learn about in the video below!
Corridor

This is the result of more than two years of study and internal research. The corridor is 84.8 km long and 200 metres wide, crossing 14 municipalities in the territory of Wallonia: Mont-de-L’Enclus, Celles, Frasnes-lez-Anvaing, Leuze-en-Hainaut, Ath, Chièvres, Brugelette, Lens, Soignies, Braine-le-Comte, Écaussinnes, Seneffe, Pont-à-Celles and Courcelles.

This corridor is the subject of an application for revision of the Area Plan. It is therefore a “zone” for which - in a second phase of the project - an application for a planning permit can be submitted by Elia, in order to construct the transmission infrastructure itself.

It is only during this second phase that the location of the pylons will be defined within these 200 metres.

In the meantime, if you want to situate yourself relative to the project, you can “zoom in” in the interactive map below. This is at the scale of the Area Plan, i.e. a scale of 10:1000, as provided for in the regulations.
Technology

The main electricity transmission lines in Europe constitute the “European backbone”. For this type of infrastructure, 98% of the European grid consists of alternating current overhead lines. Since the Boucle du Hainaut is an important link in this system, Elia has chosen the same technology.

Based on the technologies and given the objectives of the project, the choice of alternating current is necessary for the construction of this essential infrastructure for the Belgian and European electricity grid.

In order to fulfil its duties to society, Elia can only use reliable technologies and an alternating current overhead line is indeed the most appropriate technology for this project. To integrate this solution into the environment as optimally as possible and reduce its impact on the landscape to a minimum, the route will of course be carefully studied and discussed with all stakeholders.
Schedule and procedure
Documents (in French)
FAQ (in French)

News

28 August 2023

Soil testing

In order to gather information on the state of the soil at the potential locations where the Boucle du Hainaut infrastructure would be built, Elia wishes to carry out soil tests from October 2023.

07 July 2023

Start of the procedure in Flanders

In addition to the 14 municipalities potentially affected by the Boucle du Hainaut project in Wallonia, two municipalities are affected in Flanders: Avelgem and Kluisbergen.